Johnny was born in Canada and he eventually sneaked into the United States, where he built a sex trafficking empire. Johnny operated as a sex trafficker for over two decades. He also raped and ordered the rape of numerous female sex slaves. One of those women was Ellie Porter, who was raped before she was sold to Angel Perez's gang. Declan Murphy eventually started working for him under the name of Bishop as a part of an undercover operation. He eventually bought Ariel Thornhill from a fellow pimp named Arthur "Timmer" Jones.

When Timmer specifically requested Ariel for a Superbowl party he drove Ariel himself and sent Bishop to scope the party out first. When he arrives and sees the police he instantly accuses Ariel of setting him up and presses her head against the window. He drives back to his lair where and the sale of Ariel is eventually traced back to him and the police raid his hideout. They secure three girls before Johnny takes Ariel hostage when he fails to escape. He threatens to kill her if they didn't let her go, but Sergeant Benson convinces him to let her go and he immediately asks for an attorney. He is later arraigned in federal court and the judge denies him bail for holding four girls hostage as sex slaves. (SVU: "Undercover Mother")

Barba eventually wrestles control of the case from the FBI. Barba tries him for 17 counts each of rape, assault, trafficking, and kidnapping. Johnny has a meeting with his new attorney, who informs him of his status as Noah's father and how this is his ticket to freedom. He is present in court when his attorney files a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that Benson pursued his client to deny him his parental rights. When his attorney offers a deal and Barba declines, they go to trial and Benson describes everything that happened. During cross-examination, Johnny's attorney portrays Benson as a woman with a personal vendetta. After she steps down, Johnny asks about his son and Benson replies that he will never see him.

One of Johnny's pimps later orders a hit on Arthur Jones and has Timmer's former bottom Selena Cruz kill him. DetectivesAmaro and Tutuola question him with his attorney present; Johnny denies involvement and later asks Amaro to bring a teddy bear he bought for his son. They sarcastically say they will and leave without the bear. Later, when Pilar Morenas is called to testify against him, she commits perjury, claiming all she did was clean his apartment. Johnny and his attorney later use this to create reasonable doubt in the trial and file an emergency appeal to reinstate his parental rights. He later witnesses in anger as five other girls, including Ariel, describe what he did to them in their testimonies. His attorney does his best to discredit Ariel on the stand, using Benson as a scapegoat. However, Ariel stands her ground, claiming that Johnny raped her. Several women in denial, including Pilar, then jump out of their seats and claim she was lying, and Judge Elana Barth orders the courtroom to be cleared. Johnny takes advantage of the confusion, grabs a court officer, holds her hostage, and shoots another officer and the judge. As he leads the hostage officer out of the courtroom, Amaro follows him out. After Johnny shoots the officer to death, he shoots Amaro in the knee and liver; Amaro returns fire and kills Johnny. (SVU: "Surrendering Noah")